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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030696">Edd, Rebirth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowJones/pseuds/Crow%20Jones'>Crow Jones (CrowJones)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ed Edd n Eddy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ASPD, Angst, Drama, F/M, Fights, Fluff, High School, Romance, Teen Romance, Trauma, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:15:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowJones/pseuds/Crow%20Jones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Edd has shifted to a darker state over the past few years. He feels as if he has lost everything. It is time for him to gain something new.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edd "Double D"/Marie Kanker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Edd, Rebirth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wanted to preface this by stating a few points. Edd may seem OOC but parts of him are still in there. He has just grown up and experienced some trauma. This story is actually a bit more personal since I saw myself in double D as a kid. Then some...things happened and I developed aspd. I rarely see characters with my personality traits that arent painted as evil so wanted to write this for that reason as well. I put some of my feelings/experiences into this character. Lastly, there will be more chapters as I already have ideas and I know it leaves a few questions. They will be answered. Trust me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why were you looking at my girl double dork?" Kevin said</p><p>"An attractive girl walked by me in a cheerleading uniform, I wonder why I looked." Double D didn't bother with a front. Kevin was just looking for an excuse to fight.</p><p>Kevin shoved him, causing his seat to move back. A large portion of the class began to stare. Kevin had been known to be fairly defensive about Nazz. His attitude didn't improve much when he got to high school and became a testosterone filled quarterback. He was kind of a douche. The teacher wasn't in yet. Which is the only reason this was still occurring.</p><p>"I would appreciate it if you didn't touch me. Thanks."</p><p>Kevin shoved him once again. "You think you can look at my girl, talk to me like that, then just sit there reading your little book? Dork."</p><p>There was a snapping sound in Edd's head. He asked him politely to not touch him, he tried. With a sigh he closed his hardback history textbook. <em>It was a pretty entertaining section as well, too bad. </em></p><p>"Yea, that's right. Look at me when I'm talking to you, you little B-" He was cut off by the textbook slapping against his face. Before he could react he felt himself get punched in the lower part of the back of his head. He felt disoriented and fell to the ground. Instinctively he covered the back of his head but it didn't matter. Edd kept teeing off on him.</p><p>"Somebody DO SOMETHING!" Nazz screamed. Two boys Edd didn't know and didn't care to know dragged him off of Kevin's back by his arms and held him back. They thought everything was fine until he spoke. He caused a few of the students to shudder with his words.</p><p>"I'm going to count to ten inside my head. If your hands are still on me you're going to end up like Kevin." The boys looked at each other as if they were asking if he was being serious or if he was just angry. Edd got to about eight in his head before the teacher stepped into the room. He saw Kevin with a bloody nose on the floor groaning and Edd being held back.</p><p>"Go to the principals office. Both of you. Now!" He snarled out.</p><p>Edd smirked and the boys dropped their hands. "Saved by the bell." He then put his hands in his Hoodie pockets and began walking away. He chuckled a little while Nazz tended to her boyfriend. If she was that oblivious to what a cock muppet he was they deserved each other.</p>
<hr/><p>"What has gotten into you? That's your third fight this year young man. Are you trying to fill your permanent record? Do you care about college?" Principal brown said. The situation clearly exhausting him.</p><p>"My fights were purely defensive and reactionary in nature. If you ask my classmates you can verify that Kevin shoved me twice before I took any course of action." Edd rolled his eyes</p><p>"Even though I have written statements from a couple of your classmates regarding the incident today, I find it very hard to believe that any one person could attract this much conflict. You have had three fights and it is only October."</p><p>"We could go over the student accounts for the other altercations if you would like principal Brown."</p><p>Principal Brown shook his head and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Edd, you're a very intelligent young man. I've seen your grades. You do not have to behave this way. There are other ways to resolve conflicts."</p><p>"The other way to resolve these conflicts would be to accept the bullying and assaults when no teacher is present since it seems that many presume that I am an easy target. Are you telling me to not defend myself sir?" Edd could already tell where this conversation was headed, but at least he could have a chuckle or two while he got there.</p><p>"Edd I'm sure you can think of other ways to resolve these issues. Aren't you concerned about your permanent record? It will be on your college transcripts." He became confused when the teenager in front of him began laughing. "Your find the prospect of destroying your future comedic?"</p><p>"No, I find it comedic that you know how high my intelligence is yet insist on the permanent record lie. They don't exist."</p><p>"H-How can you be so sure of that? You do not work within the school system."</p><p>"You're going to trash my records as soon as I graduate. The only things colleges will care about coming from here are my grades and any club I was in. They don't care about a couple of fights with absolutely no context. I'm doubting you could even pull up someone's suspension record from a few years ago."</p><p>The principal soon got over his moment of fluster. Uncaring and high intelligence was a bad combination of traits. "You know I'm just trying to do what's best for you and the other students."</p><p>"You're just attempting to find the route that will lead to the least chaos within the school. If that means someone who just wants to be left alone like me gets bullied it's fine as long as it doesn't cause problems for the masses. I've seen and heard this song and dance before. Don't bother."</p><p>Principal Brown shook his head. It was sad that he was this young but already this cynical. On some level he wasn't wrong about him trying to find the path with the least violence, but he did not simply wish for the quiet students to get hurt. It seemed as if Edd was looking at the worst possible scenarios.</p><p>"Now that I've hit the nail on the head can I go back to class? This conversation does not appear as if it will bear any fruit, and I acted purely in self defense."</p><p>After letting out a deep breath he laid things out for the student. "While I understand it was self defense, you have no visible damage while Kevin has a swollen cheek, a bloody nose, and knots on his head in several places. I was able to show leniency before but now my hand has been forced. You will be sent home for the rest of the day. Starting tomorrow you will go through in school suspension for a three day period. Kevin will receive a two day out of school suspension. I'm sorry Edd."</p><p>Edd stood up and walked to the door. Before leaving he said another one of his <em>jokes </em>"Next time I'll be sure to let them assault me and possibly knock me out before I defense myself. Thank you for your reasonable rules." His voice dripped with sarcasm.</p>
<hr/><p>Wednesday, the beginning of ISS. After Edd plopped down in his seat he didn't feel too torn up about it. He knew most if not all of what his teachers were teaching anyway. Here he could just do his work then relax. The kids here were already in trouble and the next step was an out of school suspension of a decent length so he doubted there would be much drama. Oh how wrong he was.</p><p>A few minutes later a girl he could only describe as stunning walked through the door. She had a punk gothic style to her. Her black shirt exposed her midriff and a shoulder but it wasn't too short. She wore a black and red plaid high waisted skirt along with thigh high socks and combat boots. Her hair was jet black with blue frosted tips and she had one bang covering an eye, her other eye almost seemed gray. It was shoulder length. Her skin was flawless, even if a little pale. Not that he was much of one to talk given his complexion. She even had adorable little freckles. Her skin was perfectly counterbalanced by the black shirt, hair, and choker. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were connected in some way, even though he swore if he saw her he would remember her permanently. She was breathtaking.</p><p>He decided he was probably staring too much when she stared back at him for a few seconds and had a little frown and put his nose back into his book. He didn't peek back up until they were half an hour into the "class", if you could call it that. He couldn't help but get the feeling that someone had eyes on him and it was slightly irritating, until he saw who it was. She was in the seat next to him and occasionally stealing glances, occasionally having a full on glare. Now that he had more time to look at it she wasn't angry, she was analyzing him. Whatever. Knowing his luck she was deciding how much of a creep he was. He decided to look around at the rest of the class.</p><p>The teacher looked bored out of his mind, or he just didn't care. Edd understood him feeling that way. He wasted four years on a degree to become a glorified babysitter to teenage delinquents that weren't quite bad enough to get out of school suspensions for one reason or another. He was probably just there to make sure they got some kind of work done and didn't kill each other.</p><p>Some of the kids he saw were clearly more uncomfortable in here than others. You could tell by the look on their faces that they thought this was the end of the line. If they put a modicum of thought into it they would realize how little it actually mattered. They almost acted as if it was time in jail or something. It was rather comical. '<em>Oh no, this is going to be on my permanent record.' </em>he mocked them inside his head and chuckled to himself. When he saw the girl look his way again he turned silent. After she a few seconds she returned to her novel while occasionally texting. He figured she was likely intelligent as well, if she was reading and texting while the teacher said nothing her work was probably completed already.</p><p>He personally didn't have many people to text as he didn't have many friends. Associates he talked to at school when it was convenient better suited his turn of phrase for them. He sighed and decided to lean his head back while daydreaming. He wouldn't be able to grab a book from the library until lunch. He was interrupted by someone kicking his chair and growling at him.</p><p>"Hey, asshole, move your mop."</p><p>Edd was confused for a second until he realized he was talking about his hair. After freshman year he realized what people thought was fairly irrelevant and just let his hair down, he made no attempt at hiding it It was fairly similar in color to the girl he was viewing earlier, although a bit longer.</p><p>Edd turned around to look at him. He appeared to be another Jock like Kevin, although slightly larger. "It would behoove you to just ask me to move next time instead of kicking my chair."</p><p>"I don't understand what the fuck you just said, but as long as you move your rag I don't give a shit."</p><p>Edd smirked and shook his head given that whoever this was seemed to have a personality that was a caricature of a person. This only seemed to anger the boy and he slammed a fist on his desk.</p><p>"Who do you think you're laughing at you little b-"</p><p>The class heard a much louder thud on something in front of the class, they looked forward and saw the teacher had slammed his fist down. "Brick, I told you to calm down. I'm not for the drama."</p><p>Brick leaned back in his seat and the teacher seemed to think the incident was done. Brick whispered just loud enough for Edd to hear. "This isn't over."</p><p>Edd again chuckled to himself. Whatever. He wasn't going to leave in fear of a casual high school threat from a moron. He knew the girl was looking at him again but didn't bother looking her way. Maybe she thought his laugh was funny. He decided to nap until lunch.</p><p>Beyond a few glares from brick the rest of the day was rather mundane. As per usual Edd returned to an empty home. With a sigh he took the backpack from over his shoulder and dropped it near the door. He checked the kitchen to see that his father had left a sticky note on the fridge 'G<em>rab some delivery. Money is on the table.' </em>At least he was trying. It was only half until three pm so it was obviously to early to order something, he'd wait until later.</p><p>Edd walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. He looked at the picture on the coffee table. It framed a picture of himself, his mother, and his father. They all looked happy. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, even if it wasn't really funny. When he thought about his past self they felt like two completely different people. It was hard to picture who he was and who he became. He never wanted to be that naive and weak again but on some level he wished he was in that frame of mind simply so he could be happy again.</p><p>"I need to snap out of it."</p><p>Thinking about the past changes nothing. No matter how much he wished it would. He would find joy again someday. He hoped anyway. He almost forgot what it felt like at this point. He placed the frame back in position and thought about his next move. The scifi show he wanted to watch wouldn't be on for five hours, he had no homework to do, and no friends. Welp, it was time for him to do the one thing he would know he "enjoyed." Edd threw his legs onto the couch and decided to take a nap. The sleeping world was simple. Time just passed him by. He didn't have to think. He didn't have to feel the void.</p><p>
  <em>Thursday</em>
</p><p>Before class he saw his old friends. He gave them a courtesy head nod and they returned it. They were no longer close after a frank conversation he had with them and afterwards they were never the same. The other two eds seemed to look at him with apprehension and fear. He turned the corner and leaned back against the wall before talking to himself.</p><p>"Did I need to talk to them that way?" Did it even matter at this point? They likely wouldn't forgive him for what he said or where he said it. Even if they did he really did not wish to go back to how things were before their friendship ended. Even if he was at the darkest place in his mind when he did it.</p><p>He walked into class and plopped down in the same seat he was in yesterday. Judging by the cursory glance he gave the class once again the girl was not there yet. When he was younger he would have judged her for being late but now he thought she was brilliant. What were they really going to do to you for being five or fifteen minutes late to in school suspension? Suspend you? Your attendance record also doesn't matter if your grades are high. You're the only person who cares about it. Sometimes he wondered if this level of apathy for common social conventions was a blessing or a curse.</p><p>After a few minutes he heard the sound of her boots coming down the hall. A few seconds later she was walking through the doorway. There was just something about her that made it impossible for him to look away. She looked <em>slightly </em> irritated today, he wanted to ask why but they hadn't even said hello to each other yet. '<em>would it be odd to ask about her emotional state without knowing her?' </em></p><p>She slid into her seat, which surprisingly was right next too him again, and put her book for today in front of her. Oddly she never opened it. The look in her eyes made it seem as if she had other things on her mind. He kept stealing subtle glances at her every few minutes as she sat in the same position. Apparently he wasn't subtle enough.</p><p>"What's your deal?" Her voice fit her face, it was melodic.</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"Huh what? Am I scary looking or something?" She said with an eyeroll</p><p>"No, actually I..."</p><p>"I'm not in a demonic cult or something."</p><p>He finally realized what was happening. She likely was made fun of a lot. If you didn't dress normally you were a target. "I'm not afraid of you."</p><p>"Then why do you keep looking at me? Trying to come up with something to insult me on?"</p><p>"Huh, why would a guy look at an attractive girl? I have no idea why that would be the case." he heard some snickers behind them but didn't really care. He saw her blush, that was what mattered. He wasn't exactly a casanova but he understood if she was blushing at a compliment at the very least she didn't dislike him.</p><p>"Well, just talk to me. I'm a person. I'm not going to bite your head off." She said while looking at her desk. It was adorable that she was a bit shy.</p><p>"What are you reading? More aptly, what are you staring at? Since you haven't opened it yet." Edd said with a little smirk.</p><p>She giggled and her mood elevated ever so lightly at his terrible joke. "It's the second book in the escape from furnace series. Short summary, it's basically '<em>What would prison be like full of teenagers. And the prison is run by hellspawn' </em>I think the fact that it has fantasy elements within a real world setting to be very intriguing," She was going to continue on but found him staring at her more intently than he would be if he was just listening. She snapped once in his face to break his trance.</p><p>"Oh, sorry….sorry." He had no idea why, but he actually felt shame when she caught him again. That was rare for him.</p><p>"Have you never seen a pretty girl before? I'm really not that special dude."</p><p>"None like you….honestly. The brains are also a very nice bonus." Her little smirk made it feel like they were having a moment. Sadly it was cut short by concrete, or slab, or brick. Whatever his name was. He kicked Edd's chair a bit harder this time, causing his midsection to get crushed into his desk. Edd closed his eyes and slid his chair back slightly, just enough to breath and kept his eyes closed. Attempting to remain calm.</p><p>"I told you to keep your mop off my desk."</p><p>That officially broke the thin string of patience he had remaining. "And I told you to just ask me like a human being instead of kicking my chair like a dick."</p><p>The teacher didn't do anything quite yet since some students liked to posture for position while in ISS, for some reason. Brick was Aggressive but he never saw him actually start up a fight so he figured it was one of those moments. Hopefully in five minutes things would go back to being reasonably quiet and back to normal.</p><p>"The fuck did you just say to me?" Brick said while shoving his desk forward and standing up.</p><p>Edd stood up and faced brick. He wasn't much shorter but he wasn't nearly as muscular. "Ah, my mistake. I forgot you were a moron. I'll make it simpler. I told you to ask instead of punchy fighty. Do you understand now?"</p><p>Brick shoved him into an empty desk behind him but he maintained his footing. A few people gave him looks of concern until he started chuckling to himself. "You so scared you gone crazy you little bitch?" Brick taunted.</p><p>Unfortunately he taunting and overestimation of his abilities lead him to being stabbed in the head with a pencil. While he was whining Edd kicked him in the side of his knee causing him to stumble. Edd realized one of his punches probably wouldn't get it done so resorting to old faithful he snatched the girls hardback book and smacked brick as hard as he could in the jaw with it. Brick fell back onto his desk then the floor in a seated position. Everyone knew the fight was done. Edd turned around expecting the teacher to send him to the office for a probable week suspension, what he did not expect was to see his teacher digging through his bottom drawer. After a few seconds he finally looked up to meet the gazes of Edd and Brick.</p><p>"Oh my god, did Brick fall? I didn't see a thing."</p><p>Edd saw the wheels turning in Brick's head, then he realized what the teacher was doing. "Yea, I fell can I go to the nurse?" The teacher likely saw what happened to Brick as karmic justice and felt like he didn't need to be punished later. After he wrote a pass for Brick, Edd stepped forward.</p><p>"Could I spend the rest of my day in the library Mr. Morris? I don't feel comfortable here at the moment and I think it would be unwise for Brick and I to be in the same room after the incident."</p><p>"Sure, you don't seem like a runner. Just know that if you do leave school grounds I will know, and you will have two days added to your ISS. I will occasionally be calling to check up on you. Are we clear?"</p><p>"Crystal." Edd began gathering his things. The way a few of the people were staring at him already let him know he made the right choice.</p><p>"What's your full name so I can write it for the pass? I think it starts with an E."</p><p>"Eddward Hendrix."</p><p>Mr. Morris quickly wrote the pass out then extended his hand with a smirk. Edd finished packing and gave the girl one final look. He might not see her tomorrow after all. He instantly regretted his decision. Her face was a mix of confusion, sadness, and general shock. Or at least he thought so. He couldn't really tell. He was terrible at reading people's emotions. He usually tried to guess. It was easier if he knew them, and he only engaged in one conversation with her.</p><p>Eddward grabbed the pass lightly. "Thank you sir." He sighed lightly to himself when he was outside the door. Whatever he thought they had was probably done. She probably thinks he's a freak. He might have even gotten blood on her book. Classy. The chances of her also being there on his third day were slim since it seemed like she had already been there for a couple of days. Oh well. He was glad he stocked up on games to play in his phones emulator today. It seemed like it was going to be a long day and he did not want to be alone with his thoughts.</p>
<hr/><p>The rest of the day was actually rather calming. The school library was almost always empty. After an hour spent finishing the modicum of schoolwork he had for the day he decided to read a couple of books. He even checked out the escape from Furnace series the girl was talking about. It had it's creerpy moments but he would define it himself as action with horror elements.</p><p>It made him a little sad that he would have to go back to that classroom tomorrow. The same excuse was unlikely to work twice no matter how relaxed the teacher is. He is supposed to be being punished after all. It also saddened him that he was unlikely to see the girl again. It seemed as if she was there before him and he had already been there two days. She was unlikely to be there on his third day. His chances of spotting her in the hallway were slim as well. That look on her face also didn't seem like a good omen even if he found her in the sea of students. With a sigh he threw the backpack over his shoulder and exited the library. Maybe he'd feel better after he got home and slept this off.</p><p>He was given pause when he saw a familiar pair of combat boots, then the thigh high socks, then her face. She looked….he wouldn't define it as angry, more so determined. Did he really get blood on her book and she was here to exact vengeance? He wouldn't blame her. That was rather inconsiderate of him. He surmised that she was here for him and not anything library related. Her posture made it seem as if she had been there a couple of minutes, and she was looking right at him.</p><p>"H-Hey, what did you need? I really am sorry if I damaged your book. I can give you money for a new one." He stuttered out. She really was one of the few things that made him nervous. His heart rate skyrocketed when she walked towards him looking into his eyes with her hands behind her back. If he dared he would have called it adorable.</p><p>"Double D?" She said</p><p>He stopped being scared and just froze. He hadn't heard that name in years. He couldn't think of one person who would call him that.</p><p>"I knew it." She said with a smile. "Glad I waited. You're coming with me. We need to talk. Meet me in the parking lot after you put your stuff in your locker. I have a black truck."</p><p>Edd put up a finger in protest, or to at least pause things since he had no earthly idea what was going on but she just gave him a peace sign while walking away. He supposed he should be happy about this. She knows him, she seemed happy to know it was him, and she actually wanted to talk to him. Although if she did know him she knew what he use to be like, Maybe a conversation with him would simply lead to extreme disappointment.</p><p>"Well, only one way to find out." He said while shutting his locker and making his way to the parking lot. Her truck was rather easy to spot given that he was a few minutes late exiting the school. It always amazed him how quickly over a thousand students could disperse. He checked to make sure it was her in the driver's seat then hopped in.</p><p>"So, Double D, how are you?" She said with a sweet smirk.</p><p>"I'm fine." He said robotically while looking out the window. He turned and looked at her when he saw her eyebrows crease in the reflection. Did he give the wrong answer or something?</p><p>"Don't bullshit me. How are you actually feeling right now?"</p><p>That actually got him out of his robotic state. People wanting legitimate answers to social questions was a rarity. "I'm feeling indifferent mostly. A little scared that you wont like who I became since I find you exceedingly attractive."</p><p>Once again her smile returned. "Good."</p><p>He decided it best to answer her questions truthfully from now on. Whoever she was could sniff out if he was just being polite or trying to spare her feelings, she also didn't seem to care much about common social norms in conversation. It really threw him off that she actually seemed to care about him. Just who was she?</p><p>"Would you mind telling me the location of our destination? Or at least your name? It's a bit embarrassing that you seem to know so much about me and my mannerisms but I know nothing about you."</p><p>"Those are both surprises." She noticed his lips twitched slightly but then reverted back to blankness. "Don't get all sad on me either. You'll know my name by the end of the day. You might even figure it out yourself before I tell you. You are freakishly smart."</p><p>His face gained a genuine smile for the first time in a long while. Whoever this was really could read him like a book and knew how to cheer him up.</p><p>"We're almost there."</p><p>Edd was so busy thinking about her that he failed to pay attention to the ride. "Peach creek?"</p><p>"Yup, we're going to have a relaxing conversation by the water."</p><p>"Why would you trust me alone with you in such a location? I could harm you. Are you sure you know me well enough to trust me?"</p><p>They were pretty close to the lake so she stopped her truck and turned it off. After a few seconds of looking at him she began laughing so hard that she began slapping the steering wheel. His face only made it better. He was getting progressively more pissed off as her laughter continued.</p><p>"Is the prospect of danger really that funny to you?"</p><p>"The prospect of you causing me any harm whatsoever is pretty funny, not danger."</p><p>"You've only seen me two days and I was engaged in a physical altercation. I could be an aggressive man." He knew he said the wrong thing when she put her head on her steering wheel and began laughing again,</p><p>"Edd, you would NEVER hurt me."</p><p>"How are you so sure?"</p><p>"You gave that asshole three warnings, you even gave him a warning after he nearly kicked you out of your chair. You're just a nice guy in a not so nice school. I bet you got put in ISS for a similar incident right?"</p><p>"….right."</p><p>She waved her hands in an exaggerated fashion and made the tone of her voice high. "Oh my god. You're so scary and dangerous, please don't hurt me Edd!" She found herself humorous enough to continue laughing once again.</p><p>Edd rolled his eyes. "You've made your point. Can we walk to the creek now?"</p><p>After wiping a tear away she hopped out, which signaled to Edd that he could as well. They walked for a bit along the water's edge until they found a log to use as a seat. From what he could tell she really did feel perfectly safe around him. It was almost making him uncomfortable.</p><p>"So." She said while turning to him.</p><p>"So, here we are."</p><p>She simply waited since she knew he had to have dozens of questions. She had a few herself but he was bound to have more. She was just happy to see him.</p><p>"Since you won't tell me your name, could you at least give me something to call you? I would not feel comfortable just referring to you as woman, female, or girl. It would almost seem sexist really."</p><p>She shook her head at his unintentional goofiness then replied. "How about fey?"</p><p>Edd gave her a slight nudge. "Fey? Is that short for a name perhaps?"</p><p>"No." She put her pearly white on full display. "It's short for wifey."</p><p>Her succinct response nearly caused him to fall off of the log, he couldn't help but blush. "Y-you..."</p><p>"Yes, I go for what I want. And I want you. You're a great guy double D. Even if you changed a little over the years. You have the same heart."</p><p>His brain was usually a supercomputer, right now it felt like a hamster on a wheel. Why on earth would a girl this beautiful want him that quickly. He didn't even think he had done anything particularly impressive in front of her. The violence was something she just seemed to be indifferent to so that definitely wasn't it. Very few girls had been interested in him over the years.</p><p>She placed her hand over his. "Edd. What happened to you? You seem like a different person than when I last saw you. In terms of feelings at least. Or a lack there of." She slowly slid her hand up his arm tracing it with the tips of her fingers, then she placed a hand on his chest. "It's like you have internal pain about something."</p><p>"It's a long and slightly depressing story. Are you sure you want to hear it fey?" He still felt weird about calling her that, but he had no other choice.</p><p>"I'm positive. Your story is worth being heard. If it's painful for me to listen to then it's even more painful for you to hold it in and not to mention live through it." Fey ran her hand over his cheek for just a second then brought it back down to his hand.</p><p>'<em>Why is she so affectionate with me? Why am I this lucky?' </em>He took a deep breath before beginning his story. Usually he didn't have trouble talking about it since they were just facts. She made him feel differently though. "Alright, if you knew me in the past then you know I had to leave peach creek about three years ago."</p><p>"I noticed." She became somber and a little more withdrawn.</p><p>"….I apologize if my absence caused you any discomfort fey."</p><p>"You probably had your reasons."</p><p>He looked towards the creek, away from the pain in her gray eyes. "We moved Washington to be closer to family. It was a bit after we found out my mother's cancer had advanced to terminal status."</p><p>"She had cancer for years? H-how did you take it when she was passing?" She stammered out. The empathy she felt for him was escalated by the discomfort clear on his face.</p><p>"She had cancer for almost a decade. In my own little kid mind I thought I could help if I made enough money. Which is why I agreed to help Eddy with the scams in the first place despite my reservations."</p><p>"I'm….I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."</p><p>He placed a hand on her mid back. "You don't have to say anything. You didn't kill my mother."</p><p>"You didn't answer my other question." She said with a sniffle, although she tried to stifle it. Still trying to seem tough.</p><p>Edd noticed but chose not to say anything. "I think most people would say I didn't take it very well. I cried for a while in her final days. When she eventually passed I just looked at her and felt this immense amount of pain. Eventually after crying for a few more minutes the realization that she was really gone set in and I just felt empty and hollow. Then I'm not quite sure how to explain it but a switch or something went off in my head but it didn't hurt anymore. At least not nearly as much. It felt like all of my emotions were muted. After the funeral my father and I wanted to get as far away as possible, luckily we still owned the house in peach creek."</p><p>"That sounds like a defense mechanism Double D."</p><p>"Please don't try to tell me it's unhealthy. I've had a few people say that and it's not very helpful. I can't exactly force myself to care and feel emotions."</p><p>Fey smirked to herself. "I don't have it all figured out either. I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to handle stress, pain, and loss. I do have one question though."</p><p>"And that would be?"</p><p>"Do you feel anything when you look at me? You were staring at me for a reason. It's not just because I'm pretty."</p><p>"I'm….not quite sure how to put it into words. Just looking at you makes my heart rate accelerate, but at the same time I trust you and I feel safe. I felt as if we had a bond even when I didn't know you yet."</p><p>"I hope we still have a bond after you figure out who I am."</p><p>"I can't really see myself disliking you regardless of who you are. You're the only person who cared enough to be concerned about my mental and emotional state in the past year. Maybe longer."</p><p>Fey grabbed both sides of his face and gently turned him until he was fully facing her. Then dropped her hands to her side. "Double D. Look at me."</p><p>He took a quick glance then averted his gaze. "You're very attractive."</p><p>"No. Look at me."</p><p>He did as commanded and actually looked her over. He didn't notice before since he never looked at her face for an extended period of time but she had freckles. Her hair was in the way a bit so he moved it back gently. Her ears would probably be considered above average in size but he didn't care, they were adorable to him. She also had a cute little button nose. Lastly he looked into her eyes and the gray seemed familiar. For some reason he felt like he was never this far away when he saw them so he slid a little closer. He remembered the patterns in her eye. He had only been this close to one girl. He still couldn't believe it though. Lastly he placed her shoulder length hair back and ran his fingers to the ends. When he saw the blue he was certain.</p><p>"Marie?"</p><p>She glanced up shyly when he used her name, then right back at the ground. "You can run now if you want. We aren't too far from your house. I know we terrorized you and your friends when we were kids."</p><p>Double D pulled her into a tight embrace and stroked her hair. "I'm not going anywhere Marie."</p><p>"Are you sure you want to say that to me? I was pretty clingy. Even when I had no right to be." Marie nervously returned the hug.</p><p>"I'm positive. We aren't kids anymore Marie. You clearly know how to express your feelings in a healthier manner now."</p><p>A tear of joy ran down her cheek. "You have no idea how happy I was when I found out it was you that was looking at me like that, although I was confused at first."</p><p>"What were you confused about?"</p><p>"I wasn't sure if you recognized me and were staring at me because you were afraid, or if you actually did find me attractive. When I thought back to the fact that you were always a terrible liar..." Marie moved her head back just enough for their noses to graze each other. "I had my answer." Marie giggled when he began to devour her with a kiss. The way his eyes went a little crazy right before he dove in, how much his heart rate skyrocketed the second he decided he was going to kiss her, the way he hummed in contentment when he finally got to kiss her. It was all adorable. He even did a little grunt a couple of seconds in and pulled her closer by her waist. After what she estimated to be twenty seconds he pulled away.</p><p>Edd grunted into his hand as if he was clearing his throat. "Forgive me Marie. I couldn't control myself once I felt your lips."</p><p>Marie decided to make her point with a terrible face of horror. "The guy I like for years can't control himself when I get handsy because he finds me too attractive? How TERRIBLE. Whatever shall I do to prevent such a thing."</p><p>Edd rolled his eyes and ignored her joke, although he did pull her closer by her waist as he turned to look towards the creek again. He was a little nervous when he slid his hand over her butt but that quickly subsided when she rested her head on him.</p><p>Marie kissed his cheek. "I never want this moment to end."</p>
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